Plains Indians

Plains Indians

1. Beliefs

   • Belief in spirits
     • Waken tanka
       • The Great spirit
         • Created the world
         • Created all that lived
     • Everything had a spirit
     • Contacted through visions
       • Interpreted by Shaman
       • How they got their adult names
     • Contact through dances and ceremonies
       • Sundance
       • Buffalo Dance
       • Scalp dance
   • Circle of Nature
     • Circle of their councils
     • Circle of their tipis
     • Circle of the sun
   • Sacred Land
     • Came from the earth
       • Returned to the earth when died
       • Part of the land
     • Land was their mother
     • High places- close to the spirit world
       • The Black Hills
         • Where they were saved from the great flood
         • Where they took dead for burial
     • Prepared to fight for it

2. Daily life

   • Home
     • Tipi
       • Could be packed up and transported
       • Suitable for all weather conditions
   • Family Life
     • Men
       • Hunting
       • Protect horses
       • Protection
       • Polygamy
         • More than one wife
         • Made sure all women were taken care of
           • If husbands died
         • Arranged marraiges
     • Women
       • Tipi
       • Food
       • Water
       • Making clothing
     • Children
       • Future
       • Learnt skills
         • Boys- bows and arrows
         • Girls- Maintain a home
         • How to ride
       • Learnt how to survive
     • Old people
       • Gave advise
       • Bring up the children
       • When too old and weak they were left behind
   • Organisation
     • (Sioux) Nation
       • Not led by an individual
       • Consists of many tribes
         • Tribes consist of many bands
           • Bands
             • Influenced by warrior society
             • Advised by a council
             • Led by a chief
               • Wise
               • Warrior
               • Spirtitual

3. Buffalo

   • Hunting
     • Creep up on them and shoot arrows
       • Disguise in wolf skins
     • Stampede
       • Trap them in valleys
       • Driven off cliffs
     • Used horses when discovered
   • Uses
     • Hide
       • Tipi covers
       • Clothes
       • Carpets
       • Mocassins
     • Sinews
       • Bow strings
     • Brain
       • Used for tanning
     • Tongue
       • Eaten
       • Hair brush
     • Horns
       • Headresses
     • Teeth
       • Necklaces
     • Skull
       • Religious ceremonies

4. Warfare

   • Why fight?
     • Protect their way of life
     • Stealing horses
     • Impress
       • Women
       • Older warriors
     • Increase standing in tribe
     • Seek revenge
     • Destroy enemies
   • Uniform
     • War shirt
     • Shield
     • Feathers
       • They were marked in various ways to show success in warfare
     • Body painting
     • Amulet
       • Spiritual
     • Scalps decoration
     • Lance
   • Weapons
     • Horse
     • Bow and arrow
     • Coup stick
     • Rifle
       • Reached Sioux due to trading
     • Shield
     • Tomahawk
   • Low casualities
     • Counting Coup
       • If touched with coup stick: disgrace
     • Did not believe in killing being brave
       • Braver to touch enemy with a coup stick
     • More men lost through hunting accidents than war
       • Less than 4 lost a year
   • Scalping
     • Took scalps as evidence of their success
     • Dried and hung outside tipis
       • Trophies
     • Believed if warrior lost his scalp, he could not go into afterlife
       • So your enemy would not be there to fight you in the afterlife
     • Mutilation could also occur
       • Leave enemies disabled in the afterlife
   • Horses
     • Enabled warriors to raid over farther distances
     • Wealth counted by no. of horses
     • New reason for warfare
     • Horsemanship became important in society
   • Enemies of Sioux
     • White men
     • Crows
     • Pawnee